posted at 5:01 pm on August 5, 2012 by Howard Portnoy

Just when you thought the Obama campaign couldn’t get any weirder, along comes its latest high-tech gift. Meet the Obama for America app for iPhone, a tool that allows you to spy on your neighbors to determine which of them are naughty (read: not Obama supporters) and which are nice. What you do with that information is entirely up to you.

ProPublica’s Lois Beckett notes that this information is publicly available and that canvassers for political campaigns have long had access to it. The question is why Obama for America thinks the average man on the street should have it at his fingertips.

An Obama spokesman is quoted as saying:

The campaign is strongly committed to ensuring the safety and privacy of the public and follows up with appropriate action, including alerting appropriate authorities if necessary, in any case of abuse or inappropriate behavior. Any voter who requests not to be contacted again is immediately removed from any provided to volunteers.

The assurances about “safety and privacy” might be easier to swallow if the campaign hadn’t previously come out with other online gems, including:

Careful readers will recall that the Obama campaign’s efforts to get voters in other voters’ faces predates his presidency, finding expression in then-candidate 2008 Obama’s “Neighbor to Neighbor” campaign.

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Democrats can be such bothersome creatures. We have a “do not knock” ordinance where I live. If the notice is posted on your door/property and anyone knocks at your door, police can be phoned and will escort the individual away for trespassing.

This shows that the modern age requires a modern attitude. This type of thing, including “internet transparency” for donations, is going to seriously disadvantage conservatives.

The leftist activists are going to be active and often effective in working to publicly disgrace and humiliate conservatives, especially donors; stodgy conservatives cannot compete with the activists in the arena of public humiliation. Anonymity is needed. Conservatives, such as the misguided McCain, need to stop and desist all seemingly good-intentioned effort to reduce anonymity in politics.

Boy this is creepy. I wonder if this finds dead democrats who still mysteriously vote or people who get out of jury duty because they are not U.S. citizens or democrats that vote multiple times. If it doesn’t, they should make an app for that.

I would download the pc version of that as I would love to go meet democrats in my area. I believe I could get as many as 10% of them to consider changing partys this year, and even get a few votes for Governor Gary Johnson.

People like it when you wish to talk to them. Romney supporters should give grass roots efforts a try someday.

Any voter who requests not to be contacted again is immediately removed from any provided to volunteers.

Ah, so THAT’S how this works. Rather than first ask permission to invade one’s privacy, they invade it anyway and then said person has to ask THEM [pretty please, with lot$ of donation$ on top] to stop.

I really, really, REALLY can’t fathom how ANYONE with a sound mind, a job, and a decent self-esteem would register themselves as a DemocRAT.

For those who believe this is creepy, you should know that your voter registration information is availiable to anyone who wants it here in MI. We can get a copy of your information just by requesting it from your local registration office.

We use it to connect with voters when working out GOTV efforts, and individual candidates use it when trying to get votes in the general elections.

If you get political mail it is because your information is out there.

You’re missing the point: This app ALREADY tells you where the Republicans are.

Simple: Stand on any block, launch the app, and it will highlight all the Dem houses. All the remaining houses therefore will be Republican, or at a minimum “independent,” whoch is as good as Republican these days as independents are breaking toward R.

Thus, the “negative information” in the app is essentially a list of Republican or conservative homes.

Dem operaives can now walk down any street in America and “key” Republican cars, to diminish the amount of free cash they might to donate to Romney. Etc.

Don’t need that. The app shows Democrat voters, so the good little O-bots are free to terrorize anyone who’s not a Dem. If they make a mistake and terrorize a few imdependants, well you can’t make an omlette without breaking a few eggs.

No need for that. Simply not being a registered Democrat is sin enough, as far as these thugs are concerned.

Technology is remarkable. If this were seventy-five years ago, a monster like Obama would have to require those he deems as “undesirable” to sew an identifying symbol onto all of their articles of clothing.

If you get political mail it is because your information is out there.

DannoJyd on August 5, 2012 at 5:16 PM

Yeah. I’d say the vast majority of people know their voter registration is public information. But we’re used to it being available to people who actually want to make an effort to find it out. Someone would need a rather legitimate need to spend time to go down to the registrar’s office and look that information up.

I temporarily installed it to see how many rat neighbors I have. I think it only tells you which people have registered with Organizing Against America, since I only saw one blue flag in my whole neighborhood.

Interesting. If you’re a registered Democrat, now, if you are unfortunate enough to live anywhere near a Democrat who has the itch to be an ‘organizer’, you can expect to be visited by your fellow Democrat regularly for donations, to demand your ‘help’ with canvasing, protesting, or anything else they deem necessary.

Don’t want to participate or donate? They know where you live.

They needn’t go to the trouble to get that information in the time consuming old fashioned way of requesting the registry from officials… they can just look you up on their phone.

The rest of us are actually fairly safe by comparison. We may be a conservative, a moderate, a registered member of the GOP, and Independent, or we may not be a registered voter at all. Not everyone does their civic duty or even chooses to participate. We may even be a legal immigrant and not have voting privileges at all. Those looking to identify ‘fellow Democrats’ will have no way of knowing.

Why do I have the sense that this app is aimed, not at the GOP or Independents, etc. as much as it is at Democrats. I wonder how long it will be before that app also lists how often they have voted, how much they donated… or didn’t… and how many hours of ‘volunteer’ service they’ve expended on behalf of the party.

The campaign is strongly committed to ensuring the safety and privacy of the public and follows up with appropriate action, including alerting appropriate authorities if necessary, in any case of abuse or inappropriate behavior. Any voter who requests not to be contacted again is immediately removed from any provided to volunteers.

UNADULTERATED BULL. First, the campaign has a virtual enemies list and been targeting private citizens who are supporters and/or donors to Romney’s campaign or PACS, as well as ordinary people who have appeared in ads responding to O’s “you didn’t build that” fiasco. Second, how would they know if “inappropriate behavior” or “abuse” occurs? Third, if the campaign cares about “privacy” why is it spreading false rumors about Romney’s private tax returns?

So voter registration ID is maintained across the country as publicly available, but to require a picture ID at the voting booth that only is shared with a single individual in a privet manner is a high crime…

Why do I have the sense that this app is aimed, not at the GOP or Independents, etc. as much as it is at Democrats. I wonder how long it will be before that app also lists how often they have voted, how much they donated… or didn’t… and how many hours of ‘volunteer’ service they’ve expended on behalf of the party.

thatsafactjack on August 5, 2012 at 5:29 PM

How much you want to bet they soon put out an app they will ostensibly claim is for “persuasion” of Romney donors and their addresses that instead will be meant for the use of the “persuasion of power”.

I think they will. And Apple, being good libtards, will allow it on the App Store.

So voter registration ID is maintained across the country as publicly available, but to require a picture ID at the voting booth that only is shared with a single individual in a privet manner is a high crime…

ericdijon on August 5, 2012 at 5:34 PM

Yes, because Democrat voters are too stupid to obtain AND carry government issued ID.

I couldn’t be a democrat if for no other reason other than the fact that this party HAS NO RESPECT whatsoever for their voters!

Wouldn’t it be more effective if the O-so-clever campaign was telling us who our Republican neighbors are? I’m thinkin’ that if I know who the Dooms are, I’d be making sure they won’t be able to get outta their houses on Nov 6–or maybe on Nov 6 I could trick them into believing Nov 6 isn’t Nov 6.

So voter registration ID is maintained across the country as publicly available, but to require a picture ID at the voting booth that only is shared with a single individual in a private manner is a high crime…

ericdijon on August 5, 2012 at 5:34 PM

Yeah, that’s a pretty interesting contrast. See also the inability to ever locate or identify those here illegally.

Google maps can panorama every street in the nation, the Mormons manage to knock on each of our doors once every couple of years, and the dems can put two databases together and push out an app to help you walk your neighborhood and find them. But illegals? Sneaky bastages.

Well, the privacy concern expressed by those who don’t reflexively vote Democrat is understandable. But when you consider the history of the Democrat Party includes a supportive home for the dehumanizing institutions of slavery and partial birth abortions, the loss of a little privacy is probably not a big deal to the liberal lap dogs.

Why and how? IF someone goes to the trouble of downloading that app wouldn’t they also go to the trouble of getting it from the registrar’s office?

IMHO, if people live in an area where they do not feel safe, they should move. I did exactly that because I care for my family.

DannoJyd on August 5, 2012 at 5:39 PM

Are you seriously saying the “trouble” of downloading an app. (All of 30 seconds of your time) is on the same footing as getting in your car during government business hours and driving to the registrar’s office?

Really?

I don’t know about you or where you live, but for me that would be at least an hour out of my day. And it’s seriously not worth an hour of my day to find out where the registered Democrats in my area live. But a 30 second download? Yeah, that’s no trouble.

I don’t know about you or where you live, but for me that would be at least an hour out of my day. And it’s seriously not worth an hour of my day to find out where the registered Democrats in my area live. But a 30 second download? Yeah, that’s no trouble.

ButterflyDragon on August 5, 2012 at 5:59 PM

My point remains that if someone wanted that information to use for dispicable purposes they could get it either way.

BTW, have you considered how you could send away for the list? Easy peasy!

My husband has been parking in the same parking lot every week for 10 years without a hint of trouble with the exception of the huge nail that was driven into the side of his tire the very week he put the McCain/Palin bumber sticker on his car in 08. It could have been a coincidence, but…

Or the fact that I have a US flag displayed on my front porch?
CurtZHP on August 5, 2012 at 5:13 PM

So far, in my neighborhood, there are three Obama supporters advertising with signs in their yards. All three have the signs flanked with American Flags, (like little shrines or something) and have been displaying the Flag on the front porch/a tree since putting the O signs up. It is so transparent. I’m not sure who they are trying to convince of their ‘patriotism’ for supporting Obama: those of us driving by, or themselves.

Go down to the bottom of the page and select “privacy”, then follow the instructions. It is a 2 step process. Make sure you delete your former addresses as well. It also tracks your family members so you should alert them.

This enables the Obama administration to round up and separate Americans quickly and efficiently by political affiliation when elections are outlawed on Nov 5, 2012, and martial law is declared simultaneously.

Using this method makes it easier for Dear Leader to send Republicans and unrepentent Independents to re-education camps so they can learn what’s good for them and love Big Barry.

I’ll be happy to use this easy to access information to go find and visit my Dem neighbors…and after we have a nice chat about voting for Mitt Romney this year, I’ll be sure to mention how President Obama made their personal info so easily known.

I wonder how many Democrats may very well switch their voter registration to unaffiliated…

Go down to the bottom of the page and select “privacy”, then follow the instructions. It is a 2 step process. Make sure you delete your former addresses as well. It also tracks your family members so you should alert them.

ROTFLMAO! I would pay HUNDREDS of dollars to support any such effort. OMG! The liberal politicians and press would be changing their Depends every few minutes if that came to pass on a national scale! HAHAhahahaha….

This is a GREAT idea!
There should be a at to see which people are collecting state or federal assistance – now THAT would be eye opening! When people start looking around themselves and seeing how many people are recipients of aid, it will really drive home the point that there is WAAAAY too much government largesse taking place, and far too little individual responsibility.

The Oministration IS worried about Dems voting for Romney so stop kidding yourself.

Key West Reader on August 5, 2012 at 6:42 PM

That is THEIR PROBLEM! They made their beds. It is their right to go sleep in them. Since they gave us the 0bama Regime I’m quite happy with the unproven notion that they will be visited by the SEIU members who cannot speak English, or the unwashed masses of OWS protesters.

Shall we discuss the Easter Bunny next? Some people believe in that too.

IMHO, the only way this could be a problem is if it showed which democrats voted for republicans in 2010, or showed who stayed home.

IF they try to use it to target Romney supporters they just made that job a LOT harder to do since less than 60% are registered to vote, and those households will fall in with those not registered as Democrat voters.

For those who believe it will be used to strongarm democrats, … DO SPREAD THAT MESSAGE!!! Pass along the rumor if you think it will get people to vote for ABO. I will not because people listen to what I say, and since I work to get Conservative politicians elected I dare not allow them to be indirectly associated with anything that might very well prove to be a lie.

Finally, people worried about how this effects keeping their own information private, it is up to you to discover which candidate is running on restoring civil liberties.

Cool! Now I’ll be able to pinpoint which houses to steer the dog to for biolgical functions without remorse over not having a waste bag. I figure anybody who defecates on America with their vote is deserving of gratitude from our furry friends.

1. You can be absolutely sure that there is a similar app targeting Republicans. If someone went to the effort to download all Democrats, it is not any harder and in many ways easier to download all Republicans into the Democrats’ computer database at the same time.

2. The Democrat app was probably created with the intent of “persuading” Democrats to be sure to go to the polls and vote for “Teh Won” one last time ["One Man, One Vote, One time"]. It does not mean that persuading will be a one time effort. I suspect that the end stage if there are signs that the registered Democrat will not do the “Patriotic” thing will be what Key West Reader on August 5, 2012 at 6:29 PM said.

I’m sure that no one at the RNC will act on the information, because responding to Democrats seriously is not in their mental universe. Not all those opposing Obama are in liege to the RNC. I would hope and assume that there are those who have downloaded the app for use who mean the Left ill, for use before or after the election, or in the event that there is not an election.

4. I am sure that the Democrats have their own similar uses planned for the Republican database that they surely have.

5. Whatever happens, I am pretty sure that it will be futile to ask for quarter at this point. If homes become targets, and the rule of law is gone [see the last 4 years] …..